Week 9 — Readings & Resources · Delivery & the Modes of Delivery

Course: Public Speaking — Fundamentals of Oral Communication (COMM 1) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Marchetti
Objective covered: Objective 5 (delivery portion) — Use effective, ethical, and inclusive language and strong vocal and physical delivery (the four delivery methods; rate, pitch, volume, pauses, articulation; eye contact, gestures, movement, posture).

How to use this page

Everything here is a link to an external resource — open it in your browser, the same way you'd open any website. Nothing needs to be downloaded, and there's nothing to buy.

This week's load is deliberately focused: 1 required chapter reading + 1 TED talk to analyze for delivery + 1 optional deep-dive. Read or watch one item from each group and you're ready for the quiz; do all of them and you'll have a strong foundation for the Workshop and the Assignment. Total time is roughly 35–45 minutes if you do everything.

Order that matches the lecture: ① the four delivery methods and how to use notes → ② watching a real speaker to study vocal and physical delivery in action → ③ optional: the full vocal/physical toolkit.

A habit for this week: as you watch the TED talk, treat it as a delivery analysis exercise, not just content consumption. Watch it twice — once for what the speaker is saying, and once for how they're saying it: where do they pause, how does their pitch change, when do they step forward, what do they do with their hands? That double-watch is SLO B in practice.

① The Four Methods of Delivery & Using Notes

Maps to Lecture Segments 2 and 6. The four delivery methods (manuscript, memorized, impromptu, extemporaneous); the case for extemporaneous as the recommended default; how to use keyword notes without reading from them.

Reading — "Delivering the Speech" (Stand up, Speak out, Ch. 14)
🔗 https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Communication/Public_Speaking/Stand_up_Speak_out_-_The_Practice_and_Ethics_of_Public_Speaking/14%3A_Delivering_the_Speech
Why it's assigned: this chapter covers the four delivery methods, the speaking contexts that affect how you deliver, how to use notes effectively (the keyword notecard strategy), and the practice strategies that make delivery improve. Read sections 14.1 (Four Methods) and 14.3 (Using Notes Effectively) before Thursday — together, they preview everything from Segment 2 of the lecture. Read online, no account needed.
⏱ ~20 min (sections 14.1 + 14.3); ~35 min for the full chapter

② A TED Talk to Analyze for Delivery

Maps to Lecture Segments 3 and 5. Watching a skilled speaker with the vocabulary of vocal and physical delivery gives you a concrete reference — something to measure against and learn from.

TED Talk — "Your body language may shape who you are" (Amy Cuddy, TEDGlobal 2012)
🔗 https://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_may_shape_who_you_are
Why it earns the click — and an important note for SLO B: this is one of the most-watched TED talks ever, and it is excellent for delivery analysis: Cuddy moves deliberately, varies her vocal rate and pitch, uses strategic pauses, and makes sustained eye contact with the audience. As you watch, study the delivery mechanics. Also note: some of the behavioral science findings in this talk have been subject to ongoing academic discussion about replication and robustness — a note posted on TED's own page. This makes it a good SLO B exercise: evaluate the delivery of the talk on its merits as a delivery model, while noting that the scientific claims in the content should be read critically. Do not take the research claims at face value without independent verification.
⏱ ~21 min

Delivery analysis questions to ask while you watch:
- Where does she deliberately slow down or pause? What effect does it have?
- What does she do with her hands — and when does she use gestures purposefully?
- How does her pitch change across the talk? Where does it rise; where does it drop?
- Does she look at the audience or at her notes? How does her eye contact pattern feel to you as a viewer?
- What is her posture doing during high-emphasis moments vs. lower-energy transitions?

③ Optional Deep-Dive

• LibreTexts Ch. 14, sections 14.2 and 14.4. Section 14.2 (Speaking Contexts That Affect Delivery) covers how physical settings, audience size, and microphone use alter delivery choices. Section 14.4 (Practicing for Successful Speech Delivery) gives the full vocal toolkit — conversational quality, eye contact, vocal variety, nonverbal cues, body movement, appearance — plus recording and feedback strategies. If delivery is your biggest growth area this week, read both.
  🔗 https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Communication/Public_Speaking/Stand_up_Speak_out_-_The_Practice_and_Ethics_of_Public_Speaking/14%3A_Delivering_the_Speech

Pick-one quick path (≈21 min total)

In a hurry? Do exactly these two and you'll be ready for the quiz:
1. Read LibreTexts Ch. 14, section 14.1 (Four Methods of Delivery) — focus on the extemporaneous vs. memorized distinction.
2. Watch the Amy Cuddy TED talk with the delivery-analysis questions in mind.

Heads-up (links rot): these point to outside sites that occasionally move or rename pages. If a link ever fails, tell Prof. Marchetti and use the Stand up, Speak out table of contents or a search for the title in the meantime.